Gemini Animation Studios
Gemini Animation Studios is an animation company responsible for some of the most well-known animated films in CAYOM's history. Specializing in traditional animation, Gemini is one of the companies primarily responsible for the revival of traditional animation as a viable cinematic medium after the industry crash in the mid-2000s. Founded in late 2005 primarily by animators and writers laid off after Disney's transition to CGI animation for its feature films, Gemini has risen to prominence in its own right after a series of highly successful animated films, starting with Soldiers of Fortuna in Year 6 and continuing over the next few years. Gemini was purchased by Disney in Year 14 after a series of lengthy negotiations. It now forms the primary arm of Disney Features Animation, though it technically exists as a studio in its own right. Gemini continues to be one of the most successful studios in film today. Background The foundations for Gemini's creation were laid in 2002, when Disney began considering whether or not to concentrate solely on CGI animated films after the failure of such traditional films as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the success of CGI films such as Ice Age and Shrek. This decision was solidified in late 2002 when Treasure Planet, a high-budget traditionally animated film, was a box-office bomb, and Disney announced that Home On The Range would be its last traditionally animated movie. This was followed by Disney laying off hundreds of its animators who specialized in traditional animation, including James Westerley, who had been an animator at Disney for several years, working on such films as The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Lilo and Stitch. Westerley led the movement to create a new animation studio, and many of his fellow laid off animators were eager to follow him, though the group of animators lacked the writing talent they would need to create successful films. Michael D'Antonio Michael D'Antonio had been a writer for Disney for several years since 1997 when he joined onto the company. After some minor character work for Tarzan, D'Antonio was asked to be one of the head writers for the project Kingdom of the Sun, a film about the Incan empire that was later retooled into The Emperor's New Groove after D'Antonio was taken off the project (elements of Kingdom of the Sun would later be resurrected and imported into Year 30's film Machu Picchu). After doing some work for Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet, D'Antonio was reassigned to Disney's Parks division, where he worked briefly as an Imagineer. It was as an Imagineer that James Westerley, D'Antonio's best friend and college roommate, contacted him about leaving Disney to join the new animation studio, which would be called Gemini. D'Antonio was promised complete creative control and a 50% ownership stake in the new company, and after laboring over the decision for several weeks, he left his job at Disney and accepted the position at Gemini. The Highwayman and the Beginnings of a Legend D'Antonio immediately proposed an idea for Gemini's first film, which would be based on the tragic Alfred Noyes poem The Highwayman. A script was written up and actors were hired. Amy Lee, a friend of James Westerley's wife, was the first to sign onto the project, and the animators and producers were able to attract such talent as Christian Bale and Nick Stahl as well. The film was created on a $20 million animation budget, and expectations were low at first until Gemini staff was able to secure a distribution deal with New Line Cinema that would allow Gemini to remain an independent studio while allowing New Line to distribute and promote its films. The Highwayman's dark tone allowed it to be marketed heavily amongst teenagers and female moviegoers, and the film was set to debut on Memorial Day amidst heavy competition. Despite having to fight for crowds against films such as Angels and Demons and Independence Day 2, The Highwayman was a surprising success, debuting to $27 million over its first four days at the American box-office. The film was helped along by good reviews, including a good word from Roger Ebert, who praised the film for being "imaginative and dark... while ultimately staying true to the source material". The film grossed just over $150 million worldwide and made tens of millions more on DVD, ensuring Gemini's continued success and allowing it to produce numerous films. Gemini Studios had arrived, and now other studios, including Disney, were forced to take notice. D'Antonio immediately accelerated the release of Street Magic, a film in the style of Disney Renaissance-era musicals. To further emphasize a desire to return to this "golden age" style, Paige O'Hara was brought on to play the heroine of the film, a young girl endangered by vicious mobsters (O'Hara had also played a singing bartender in The Highwayman). Though the film wasn't quite as big a success as The Highwayman, it still was a critical hit and turned a significant profit. Gemini followed this film with Year 4's Snow Angel, another fantasy musical that was mildly successful. The Push For Best Picture Since beginning the company, James Westerley and Michael D'Antonio had always stated as their ultimate desire to have a film nominated for Best Picture, repeating Disney's 1991 feat with Beauty and the Beast. This, said D'Antonio, would help to vindicate traditional animation as a viable cinematic medium, and would hopefully secure its continued place in the American consciousness. Their first major attempt to do this was with Romeo and Juliet, a Year 5 animated adaptation of the classic Shakespearean play. Almost immediately, problems emerged. D'Antonio and the writing staff labored over whether to preserve the original, tragic ending, or to shoot for a more Disney-esque ending where Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after. It was decided that the original ending be preserved (as was the case with The Highwayman, Gemini's most successful film up to that point), though the material was sanitized enough to secure a PG rating. This left the film with an intriguing conflict that numerous critics pointed out: The film seemed to be, as Leonard Maltin put it, "arguing with itself about whether to be serious or silly, Disney-esque or Shakespearean. Lion King pulled this off brilliantly, while Romeo and Juliet stumbles right out of the gate". Despite these complaints, Romeo and Juliet received excellent reviews, including "two thumbs up" from Ebert and Roeper, both of whom put it in their top 10 for the year. Despite this, and despite receiving numerous Golden Globe and Critics Circle nominations, the film was a box-office disappointment (though not a bomb) and it wasn't even in the discussion for Best Picture. At the same time that Romeo and Juliet was in production, another animated film was also in the works. Intended to be Gemini's first blockbuster animated film, Soldiers of Fortuna was a high-concept movie spawned from an idea Michael D'Antonio came up after his son discussed his Sailor Moon fandom numerous times. D'Antonio conceived Soldiers to be a film based on a team of middle-aged superheroines who had previously been a team of magical teenage superheroines similar to those featured in popular Japanese anime series. Described as a cross between Sailor Moon and The Incredibles, Soldiers also featured the voice talents of four of Disney's most well-known voice talents: Jodi Benson, Susan Egan, Paige O'Hara, and Lea Salonga, in addition to Apollo Smile, a well-known cosplay figure in the anime community. The film was designed to appeal to families and anime fans alike, and was not intended to be an Oscar contender. It was also to be released in the holiday season of Year 6. However, after an enormous groundswell of hype from anime conventions and test audiences during the summer of Year 5, and after it became apparent that the film was very near to completion, Gemini execs took the risky move of releasing the film on Presidents' Day Weekend of Year 6, just three months after the release of Romeo and Juliet. This move turned out to be a resounding success, as the film grossed nearly $60 million in its first four days of release, by far the largest opening for a Gemini film, and the second largest opening for any traditionally-animated film (after The Simpsons Movie). In addition, the film received a great deal of praise from critics and fans alike, including a ranking in the top 10 of all-time on IMDB for nearly the entire first year after its release (the film has since declined to #44). Best Picture nomination controversy The rousing critical response for Soldiers of Fortuna led to murmurs of a push for the film for Best Picture nomination honors. Similar pushes had been attempted for films such as Pocahontas, Chicken Run, and Ratatouille, though none had panned out, and Soldiers position in the first two months of the year seemed to solidify that the film would be forgotten come Oscar time. However, a huge outpouring of fan support for the film throughout the year, and the rise of a new, younger voting bloc in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences following the deaths of numerous prominent members throughout Years 1-5 brought encouragement to Gemini's cause, as many Academy members pledged their votes to Soldiers of Fortuna as the nomination season got underway. What followed was one of the most contentious races in Oscar history that ended with two films, Soldiers of Fortuna and foreign film Следите на Революции (Mind on Revolution) locked in a virtual tie for the final nomination, with Mind on Revolution slightly out in front. Before the nominations were officially released to the public, however, allegations and rumors began to surface that Disney had coerced some of its Academy voters into nominating Mind on Revolution for two reasons: first, to save face after the controversial move of firing its traditional animators (its assertion that CGI films were superior would be shattered with a Soldiers Best Picture nomination), and secondly, because its company was the one distributing Mind on Revolution in America). After word of these rumors reached Gemini executives, many of them began pushing for an Oscar re-vote strictly between Soldiers of Fortuna and Mind on Revolution, with Michael D'Antonio extremely vocally expressing his opinions on blogs and in the media. Finally, bowing to intense pressure, not only did the Academy release detailed records of Oscar nominations to the general public for the first time in the history of the awards, but Mind on Revolution and Soldiers of Fortuna were placed in a run-off vote, with the winner receiving the final Best Picture nomination. The results of the run-off were extremely close, but again, Mind on Revolution won. Even then, allegations of foul play on Disney's part abounded, and D'Antonio grew even more vocal in his protests, even encouraging people to picket screenings of Mind on Revolution until the matter was resolved. Finally, after an investigation that pushed the Oscar nominations all the way back to the end of February, it was discovered that several votes for Mind on Revolution were placed by illegal proxies outside of the Academy at the behest of Disney. Disney agreed to pull Mind of Revolution from Best Picture contention in exchange for receiving no further penalties from the Academy, and Soldiers of Fortuna became only the second animated film to ever be nominated for Best Picture, losing to Matador. Mainstream success The controversy and popularity surrounding Soldiers of Fortuna brought Gemini completely into the mainstream, and its subsequent films benefited heavily from this newfound fame. Its next film was Year 7's Lighthouse, an adventure/romance film featuring the voices of Clay Aiken and Christy Carlson Romano. Opening in October, it proved to be the biggest hit of the fall, with a robust $35 million opening. The money that came in from films such as Soldiers of Fortuna and Lighthouse allowed Gemini to commit to large animation budgets, and it showed this budget off with the highly-hyped film Crystal, Gemini's most lucrative to date. The film debuted over Memorial Day weekend of Year 8 and was a huge box-office success, grossing more than $500 million worldwide. Films such as Virtualix also pushed Gemini's animation budget to the limit, as it was the most expensive animated film to date at the time. Despite this, Virtualix wasn't quite as well received by critics as previous Gemini films, and it barely managed to make back its budget domestically. By the time Virtualix was released in Year 14, Gemini had undoubtedly achieved mainstream success. Acquisition by Disney After the critical and commercial success of Soldiers of Fortuna, Disney was finally forced to take notice that traditional animation had returned as a viable and lucrative medium. It immediately returned to producing traditionally-animated films of its own, starting with Anatethka in Year 8. Anatethka was well-received by many critics, but, similar to Disney's films immediately prior to the cessation of its traditional animation division, it was a box-office failure. Disney was not discouraged, and its success with The Dish and the Spoon and Don Quixote (which proved to be a bigger box-office success than any of Gemini's films during the first 15 years of its existence), encouraged Disney to rebuild its traditional animation division. Ultimately, the decision was made by John Lasseter (who had briefly worked with Gemini before returning to Disney) that Disney could best do that by purchasing Gemini Studios. Feelers were immediately sent out to investigate the prospects of a purchase. Gemini's animators were initially antagonistic toward Disney, the company which had fired them more than a decade ago, but since the Soldiers of Fortuna fiasco, relations between the companies had softened, and the decision was ultimately made by Gemini to accept Disney's offer of $3.7 billion to purchase the company. The deal was made during Year 14, though Gemini would continue to operate as an independent studio until after September 30th in Year 16. Its last film as an independent studio would be Soldiers of Fortuna II: Hearts of Destiny, a sequel to the original film. Meanwhile, Disney Features Animation would produce The Frontier during Year 15 without Gemini's help. James Westerley made the largest sum of money from the acquisition, taking $600 million and retiring from the company after fifteen years of leading its animation division. Michael D'Antonio would become associate chairman of Disney's animation division either way as part of the deal (working under Lasseter), but he eschewed a $1.1 billion cash payment in order to ensure an arrangement that would secure the careers of every writer and animator at Gemini, and all of them found jobs in Disney's animation department (D'Antonio ultimately received a cash payment of around $75 million). "I wanted my guys," D'Antonio said of the arrangement. "There was no way I would agree to this deal unless I could have Gemini's people working with me at Disney. I owe John (Lasseter) a lot for helping to make that happen." The Final Days Soldiers of Fortuna: Hearts of Destiny would thus be a bittersweet film for Gemini, its last as an independent company. As part of the deal with Disney, Disney heavily assisted with the marketing for the film in the run-up to its release. DVD sales and television showings of the original Soldiers film skyrocketed in the months before the film's Presidents' Day Weekend debut, and interest in the original film experienced a massive resurgence similar to that of the Terminator and Matrix films in the months before their sequels were released. This hype led to an incredible opening weekend of $150 million over the 4-day holiday, shattering expectations and bringing in a huge amount of money for both Gemini and Disney. The film had some of the best reviews of any Gemini film and would be a Best Picture contender like its predecessor, though in a year which saw a much stronger slate of Oscar contenders, the Soldiers sequel was left out of the ultimate list of nominees. Disney's Second Renaissance Gemini's acquisition by Disney has undoubtedly been the impetus of a "Second Renaissance" of sorts at Disney Features Animation. Traditional animation's comeback at Disney has led to critical and commercial success unseen since the days of Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pocahontas. It is arguable that this period began with the success of films such as Don Quixote, but it was apparent with the first Gemini/Disney films that animation had returned to the forefront of American cinematic consciousness in a big way. Merger: The Early Years As soon as the acquisition deal between Gemini and Disney was finalized, Gemini and Disney animators began working together on several different animated films that would become part of the Disney Animated Canon. The first of these films was an animated adaptation of the fantasy novel and cult classic film The Princess Bride. Though fans of the book and film were skeptical, claiming that the film was a near-perfect adaptation, the work of Disney animators and writers made the animated Princess Bride as well-received as the original. It was one of the most well-reviewed films of Year 17 and was a huge box office success, following in the footsteps of Soldiers of Fortuna II and finishing with nearly $300 million domestic. Gemini's next film, Princess of Nightmares, was a unique take on the Disney Princesses franchise, featuring a strange and scary girl named Viera as the newest Disney Princess. The film was as well hyped and well received as The Princess Bride and took in nearly as much money as that film. Vive la Liberté As soon as Michael D'Antonio joined Disney, he immediately pitched a concept to Disney executives that he saw as his "dream film", a film about a young woman who joins the French Resistance during World War II. Drawing inspiration from the classic comic series "Mlle. Marie", the film, which would come to be known as Vive la Liberté, was an incredibly ambitious project that involved the most mature concept for a Gemini film since The Highwayman, and easily the most mature concept in the Disney Animated Features Canon, as it would be the first film of the canon to receive a PG-13 rating. After being impressed by D'Antonio's original pitch, executives greenlighted the film and gave him permission to push the limits of content as far as the PG-13 rating would allow, convinced that the film's strong heroine and inspiring messages would continue to attract family audience and maintain the sterling Disney image. For the first time, famed composer Alan Menken would provide the score for a Gemini film, and together, he and D'Antonio set out to create Vive la Liberté with the goal of making it the greatest animated film in Disney's long history. Hype for the film began early in Year 18 and continued through three years. The film met with a wave of controversy, both because of its subject matter and because of D'Antonio's aggressive marketing of the film, the most aggressive campaign for a Gemini film since the Best Picture push for Soldiers of Fortuna. As Year 21 approached and critics began watching early cuts of the film, it became clear that anything but a Best Picture nomination, the second in Gemini's history, would be a disappointment for the film. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with only a few critics panning the film outright. Many critics ranked the film #1 on their yearly "top film" lists, with some even going so far as to call it "the greatest film ever made", a remark that hadn't been heard about an animated film since the days of Beauty and the Beast. The film was a lucrative success worldwide, making a quarter of a billion dollars stateside and becoming one of the biggest box-office hits in the history of France (its opening on Bastile Day would be the largest opening day in French history, beating the mark set by Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, though Ch'tis would barely retain the opening weekend title). It received a massive Best Picture push and was briefly the favorite to win Best Picture, though a late surge by Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk kept Gemini's film from winning the big prize. Vive la Liberté remains a highly popular film to this day, having aged much better amongst critics than its rival The Long Walk. After Vive Gemini followed up the success of Vive la Liberté with Brilliancy, an "enhanced 4-D" fantasy film inspired by the Walt Disney World attraction "Philharmagic", in which not only are 3-D visuals and force feedback conveyed to the audience, but physical sensations and pleasant smells are pumped into theaters as well, providing a full sensory experience to audiences. Brilliancy was a box-office success, though it was the least successful film to date since the Gemini/Disney merger. The Prayer was released during Year 24 and was another box-office success, with an opening weekend and legs similar to that of Vive la Liberté. The Prayer was extremely well-received by critics and nearly got a Best Picture nomination, but ultimately fell short in a very competitive year. During this time, Gemini also experimented with collaboration. This led to the films Salem (with J.K. Rowling) and Hawk Warrior (with former Disney animator Don Bluth). Salem had high expectations, but met with critical backlash after being accused of trivializing history (similar to the accusations leveled at 1995's Pocahontas). Receiving the worst critical response of any Gemini film since Virtualix, and having to deal with World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in its opening weekend, Salem only conjured up $50 million in its opening weekend and ended up just north of $200 million. While this was a mild setback, Disney's collaboration with Don Bluth, Hawk Warrior, did surprisingly well amongst critics and audiences alike, grossing $350 million worldwide. Though it wasn't as much as Salem, the film still exceeded expectations and kept Gemini's streak of box-office hits alive. Metempsychosis During this time, D'Antonio and Gemini also experimented with high concept again with the R-rated sci-fi film Metempsychosis. D'Antonio called the film his "dream project", setting it in a bleak dystopia and featuring a heroine with strange and dark powers. The film was animated featuring a brand-new rendering program known as "Candide", which took hand-drawn frames and combined them in an optimal way to produce amazing effects never thought possible in traditional animation. The program was incredibly process-intensive and the film cost nearly $200 million to animate, easily shattering the record for costliest animated film. From the very beginning, Gemini and Disney expected to take a loss domestically on the film, intending to make back the film's prodigious budget with overseas and DVD sales. Also, the film would not be part of Disney Animated Canon, instead being distributed through Disney's studio Miramax, so as to distance the gritty film from Disney's clean-cut family image. Throughout Year 26, D'Antonio set out on a college barnstorming tour to promote both Gemini and Metempsychosis, and the film generated a wave of internet buzz, enhanced by promotional stills showing off the film's groundbreaking animation. Riding the hype, the film debuted to over $50 million, far exceeding industry expectations, and eventually grossed $200 million domestic, nearly making back its budget. It would double that figure overseas and become one of Gemini's best-selling DVDs, paving the way for another R-rated film, Lian's Story, in Year 36. The Platinum Age During the time when The Prayer was being released, Gemini had begun planning a number of films that would be released during Years 29-31, including Lian's Story (which would be pushed back to Year 36) and Machu Picchu, a fantasy film featuring an Incan Disney Princess. Another film, Swingdown was also being produced at this time. Starring Nicole Sullivan, the film was said to be Gemini's first attempt at a straight-up comedy, and after the delay of Lian's Story, was slated for release during Year 31. Machu Picchu would be released during Year 30. Written as a "love letter" of sorts to Gemini's loyal Peruvian fanbase, the film featured beautiful animation and songs by Alan Menken, and became one of Gemini's most well-hyped films ever. Released during May of Year 30, it became Gemini's second biggest box-office hit (after Soldiers of Fortuna II), grossing $70 million in its opening weekend and more than $300 million domestic. It also smashed every major Peruvian box-office record, grossing nearly $10 million in that country alone. The critical response to Machu Picchu was overwhelmingly positive and it became Gemini's third Best Picture nominee, losing to Nam. Meanwhile, Swingdown had been renamed Dance The Night Away (to avoid confusion with a raunchy CBS drama series) and was slated for release in November of Year 31. An overwhelming amount of critical and popular hype led up to the film's release, and reviews for the film were the best ever for Gemini. Dance The Night Away achieved a perfect 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and was #1 on numerous critics' lists, in addition to becoming Gemini and Disney's second consecutive $300 million domestic hit. In a year that saw three animated films being nominated for Best Picture, Dance topped them all and became the first animated film to ever win the prestigious award. Another film, Electronic Sakura, followed in Year 32 and was a third straight blockbuster hit for the studio. As the early 30s continued, Gemini and Disney were enjoying the best period ever for an animated studio, surpassing even the streak of hits during the years of the "Disney Renaissance", when The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King all received prodigious commercial and critical acclaim. With Romancing the Handmaiden, a collaboration with the brothers behind the Oscar-winning film The Johnsons, Disney and Gemini continued their incredible streak. Romancing the Handmaiden ''was Gemini's fourth straight film to receive an 85 on Metacritic, and nearly got a Best Picture nomination. Their next film ''Lost Portal, a collaboration with Avatar: The Last Airbender ''creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, was the fifth Gemini film to be nominated for Best Picture, though it did not win. D'Antonio's Departure: End Of An Era During Year 32, Michael D'Antonio announced that he would step down from Gemini and retire following the release of ''Final Fantasy VIII: Beyond the Garden, leaving Luke Karssen to take his place as head writer at Gemini. This retirement was finalized earlier than originally announced, as D'Antonio officially stepped down from his position with Disney and Gemini on November 29, Year 36, two days after the release of Lian's Story. Luke Karssen is now the creative head of Gemini and Executive Creative VP of Disney Animation Studios. As for Lian's Story, the film was intensely controversial due to its hard-R level violence and dramatic situations. The film was extremely well-recieved by critics (97% RT, 90 on Metacritic) but was Gemini's lowest-grossing film domestically since Street Magic all the way back in Year 2. Despite its low gross, Lian's Story is expected to push heavily to be Gemini's sixth Best Picture nominee and perhaps its second win. Upcoming Films In addition to the planned Final Fantasy VIII: Beyond the Garden, Gemini has planned to release a film during Year 38 called Heart of the City, staring Hayley Williams and Juliet Simms as young women with mysterious powers who battle it out under the auspices of a strange elderly woman. The film is said to be a "rock opera" and will signal the beginning of a "new era for Gemini and Disney". This new era will continue in Year 39 with the science fiction/romance film Eidenai ''(starring Annie Wersching and Mel Gibson) and the Year 40 comedy/satire ''The Librarian and the Madman, which will feature Sarah Vowell as the voice of a demure librarian who draws the romantic affections of a villainous sorceror (played by Aladdin's Jonathan Freeman). Gemini within Disney The acquisition deal between Gemini and Disney has given Gemini a position within the company similar to that held by Pixar: an independent studio but still under the Disney arc. Gemini's position is somewhat different in that most of its films become part of the official Disney Animated Features Canon, as Gemini has largely absorbed the Disney Features Animation division. The acquisition also led to the creation of a Kingdom Hearts game called The Gemini Stone, which was later adapted into a Year 21 film. Legacy Gemini's reputation within the animation industry is one of high regard. The studio is largely credited for returning traditional animation to a respected place within cinema, and it has led Disney to reconsider its position regarding CGI and traditional animation. Some, however, have claimed that the rise of Gemini (as well as studios such as Golden) has severely weakened CGI animation in cinema, even within esteemed companies such as Pixar. They claim that Gemini's influence has gone too far, and that it is now impossible for CGI films to compete, though series such as Shades continue to thrive and win Oscars. Gemini has steadfastly refused to produce a CGI animated film, though in recent years, the studio has considered it. Gemini's success has inspired the creation of new studios such as Golden, which is partially staffed by former animators and writers from Gemini, and now perennially competes with Gemini for Oscars and Annies. Gemini's fanbase is worldwide, but particularly heavy in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and France. Curiously, Gemini has a sizable South American fanbase, particularly in the country of Peru, which has possibly the highest ratio of theater attendance for Gemini films of any country in the world. Peruvian critics (in both Peru and America) tend to rate Gemini films highly, and the country is rife with fanartists producing works based on Gemini films. The studio continues to have a strong fanbase throughout Peru and many countries throughout the world.